Accessories

Backpack

This is the first time I have ever splurged on a backpack and it didn’t disappoint me. I bring it for my summit climbs as well as my general backpacking trips. It is voted one of the top backpacks as of 2016.

There are 3 different colours.

Check out the reviews by others as well as youtube videos on how the bag functions.

Watch

One of the best altimeter watches currently in the market. I had never used watches until I decided that I wanted to be safer during my hikes with knowing the altitude and tracking my location. With the GPS function, its plethora of functions, waterproof capability and long battery life, I can’t stop loving it!

I use it to know how high I am in order to adjust the speed I walk, or to feel good about myself. The GPS functions allow me to save locations and trackback, so I can easily save my Airbnb or couchsurfing host’s house location so I won’t get lost while walking around. I also use it for my training, both running and swimming to track my speed and distance. Lastly, I can import or export routes, so I can see where I have gone or follow other people’s routes.

All of this makes going on a trip a lot safer and reassuring! No point getting a first hand as it is really expensive. This is by far the best investment I have ever made.

*Suunto is renowned for its diving equipment which means it creates really solid watches. Although there are now newer models of Suunto, it has not evolved along with the times and is losing out to all the newer models of Garmin. A lot of the watches are geared towards the casuals, but I am for something that is solid, hardy and maximum value. Ambit 3 Peak, until now is still the best and unbeatable so far.

Trekking Poles

Got these as a gift for my birthday. Leki is a famous brand and it is a really solid hiking stick. It is light-weight, easy to hold for long periods of time and doesn’t break easily.

These trekking poles help for my mountain treks, to reduce the weight on my knees especially for long hikes.
It is hard to choose hiking sticks as honestly anything that is comfortable, even a tree-pole can be good enough. You would want 1 that lasts so you wouldn’t need to keep purchasing.

I think either Leki or Black Diamond are good brands and they would last for many years. I hope mine lasts for 10 years.

Sunglasses

I just needed a full-frame sunglasses that is polarized in case of snow conditions. Decathlon sunglasses were not expensive and it did the job. I like the rugged feeling of the full-frame and it protects against strong winds too. I wished I had oakley but they are way too expensive.

Headlight

At 140 lumens, it is bright enough for most trips. It lasts really quite long and it is charged by USB, which takes away the hassle of me needing to bring extra batteries. The wire casing is exposed which is not very good as I had to duct tape it because it broke apart due to cold weather.